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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

VATICAN : POPE : TWITTER MESSAGE AND ADVENT - GOD'S PRESENCE AMERICA : BISHOPS - DAY OF PRAYER FOR NATIVE PEOPLES CATHOLIC MOVIES - WATCH ST. JOHN BOSCO- PART 17 AFRICA : MALI : PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS - APPOINTMENT OF TRAORE - INTERIM AUSTRALIA : NEW APOSTOLIC NUNCIO - ARCHBISHOP GALLAGHER EUROPE : 11 ANGLICAN SISTERS JOIN ORDINARIATE ASIA : INDIA : NEW MOVIE ON JESUS - TV SERIES TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : WED. DEC. 12, 2012 - OUR LADY OF GUADELUPE TODAY'S SAINT: DEC. 12: OUR LADY OF GUADELUPE (Vatican Radio
IMAGE/SHARE)ADVENT REMINDS US OF GOD'S PRESENCE IN THE
WORLDVatican City, 12 December 2012 (VIS) - The phases of
Revelation, conveyed in the Scriptures and culminating in the Advent of Jesus
Christ, were the theme of Benedict XVI's catechesis during today's general
audience, which took place in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall. In view of the Year of
Faith, the Pope renewed his invitation to read the Bible more frequently and to
pay closer attention to the readings at Sunday Mass, to provide "valuable
nourishment for our faith". The Pope observed that "reading the Old
Testament, we see how God's interventions in the history of the chosen people
with whom He established an alliance were not passing events forgotten over
time, but rather become living 'memory', together constituting the 'story of
salvation' that resides in the consciousness of the people of Israel through the
celebration of salvific events", such as Easter. "For all the people of Israel,
to recall God's work becomes a sort of constant imperative, in order that the
passage of time be marked by the living memory of past events which thus create
history anew, day by day, remaining ever present. ... Faith is nurtured by the
discovery and the memory of God who is always faithful, who guides history and
is the sound and stable foundation upon which life should be built".Benedict
XVI explained that for Israel, the Exodus "is the central historical event in
which God reveals the power of his action. God frees the Israelites from the
bondage of Egypt so that they may return to the Promised Land and worship Him as
the one true God. Israel does not set out to become a nation like any other ...
but rather to serve God in worship and in life ... and to bear witness to God
amid other peoples. And the celebration of this event renders it present and
current, as the work of God does not cease. ... God reveals Himself not only in
the primordial act of creation, but by entering into our history, into the
history of a small population that was neither the most numerous nor the
strongest of its time. This Revelation of God ... culminates in Jesus Christ:
God, the Logos, the creating Word at the origin of the world, is made flesh in
Jesus and thereby shows His true face. In Jesus every promise is fulfilled; the
story of God and humanity finds its culmination in Him"."The Catechism of
the Catholic Church summarises the phases of divine Revelation", continued the
Holy Father. "God has invited mankind, since the very beginning, to engage in
profound communion with Him, and even when man, through his own disobedience,
lost His friendship, God did not abandon him to the force of death, but renewed
His offer of alliance with man many times. The Catechism chronicles God's path
with man from His covenant with Noah following the flood, to the command to
Abraham to leave his homeland and become the patriarch of a multitude of
peoples. God creates Israel as His people, through the Exodus, the Sinai
covenant and the giving of the Law through Moses, so as to be recognised and
served as the one true and living God. By means of the prophets, God leads His
people in the hope of salvation ... In the end, they no longer await a king,
David, the Son of David, but rather the 'Son of Man, saviour of all peoples' ...
In this we see how the path of God broadens and opens the way towards the
Mystery of Christ, the King of the universe. Revelation finds its full
realisation in Christ, in God's benevolent plan: He becomes one of us. All these
steps demonstrate "a single salvific plan dedicated to all of humanity,
progressively revealed and realised through the power of God". The Pope then
turned his attention to the liturgical time of Advent, which prepares us for
Christmas. "As we all know, the word 'Advent' means 'coming' or 'presence', and
historically indicated the arrival of the king or the emperor in a province. For
us as Christians it has the wonderful and awe-inspiring meaning that God Himself
has crossed over from Heaven and inclined towards man; he has made a covenant
with man, entering into the history of His people. He is the king who enters
into the poor province of earth, offering us the gift of His visit, taking on
human flesh and becoming one of us. Advent invites us to retrace this path and
reminds us again the God has not left this world, He is not absent and has not
abandoned us to our own devices, but instead draws towards us in various ways
that we must learn to recognise. And we too, with our faith, hope and charity,
are called upon every day to perceive and witness this presence, in a world so
often superficial and led astray, and to make the light that illuminated the
stable in Bethlehem shine anew in our lives".

THE
POPE ENTERS TWITTER WITH A BLESSINGVatican City, 12 December 2012
(VIS) - "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter.
Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart".This
was Benedict XVI's first tweet, published after the blessing that concluded
today's general audience. The Pope used a tablet to send his first tweet, which
was transmitted in eight languages (English, Italian, Spanish, French, German,
Portuguese, Polish and Arabic), and displayed on a screen installed in the Paul
VI Hall.Throughout the day the Pope will respond to three questions -
submitted from three different continents - selected from those sent during
recent days.The Holy Father already has over one million followers on
Twitter.

OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTSVatican City, 12 December 2012 (VIS) - The Holy
Father appointed Bishop Sergio Eduardo Castriani C.S.Sp., bishop prelate of
Tefe, Brazil, as metropolitan archbishop of Manaus (area 64,079, population
1,551,000, Catholics 1,331,000, priests 163, permanent deacons 16, religious
298), Brazil. He succeeds Archbishop Luiz Soares Vieira, whose resignation from
the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having
reached the age limit.

CCCB RELEASE: This year, through the
miracles of God and the prayers of the Church, we are celebrating the solemn
declaration that Kateri Tekakwitha is a saint and model for all Christians. What
meaning does her life and death have today? Her message is the same that Jesus
the Christ proclaimed 2000 years ago, and which he continues to teach us
today.

IN response to an invitation earlier this
year by the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council, the Canadian Conference of
Catholic Bishops offers the following message for the 12 December 2012 Day of
Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous People:

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha: A model for
loving and following Jesus

The heart of Our Lord’s teaching is
found in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5.3-11; Luke 6.20-23). Their light shines
brightly in the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints. It is this light that the
Church also recognizes in Kateri. This message of Jesus is daily and eternal,
inviting us to decide how to respond to the deepest desire for happiness which
God has placed in our heart.Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. Kateri lived simply and austerely, searching how
to love Jesus and at the same time be faithful to the traditions of her people.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. All her life,
she was weak, scarred and partially blind because of the smallpox which had
killed her parents and a younger brother when she was between four and six years
old. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Already as a young girl, Kateri learned to carry firewood and fetch water,
to make soup and bread. Later, she used sticks to make crosses, a sign of
Christ’s mercy, and place these in the woods. Her prayer at death was as simple
as her life itself: “Jesus, I love you.” Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Kateri participated in
the winter hunts, and worshipped God in the woods and forest. She is recorded as
saying, “My body is served most luxuriously in the forest, but the soul
languishes there, and is not able to satisfy its hunger.”Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Kateri taught the young, and
assisted the sick and elderly. She refused to speak ill of others. Although
infirm, she was always the first to work. Blessed are the pure in heart, for
they shall see God. She insisted on making a promise of perpetual
virginity, and wanted to form a community of Sisters who would all be Aboriginal
women. “I have consecrated myself entirely to Jesus, son of Mary,” she
said.Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of
God. Kateri is described as joyful, patient and always wanting to help
others. She would ask, “Who can tell me what is most pleasing to God that I may
do it?”Blessed are they are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven. After her baptism, she was derided for becoming a
Christian, outcast from her native village, and so ended her years at a mission.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds
of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
is great in heaven. Ridiculed because of her baptism, she sought refuge
over 300
kilometres away, walking through woods, rivers and
swamps.When she was beatified in 1980, Blessed John Paul II described Kateri
as “a kind, gentle and hardworking person, spending her time working, praying,
and meditating”. In the last months of her life, he said, we continue to see a
woman of “solid faith, straight-forward humility, calm resignation and radiant
joy, even in the midst of terrible sufferings.”This past October, when
Kateri was canonized, Pope Benedict XVI said she had led a simple life,
remaining faithful to her love for Jesus, to prayer and to daily Mass. “Her greatest wish
was to know and to do what pleased God,” the Pope continued. “She lived a life
radiant with faith and purity. Kateri impresses us by the action of grace in her
life, in spite of the absence of external help, and by the courage of her
vocation.”Pope Benedict has entrusted the renewal of faith in the First
Nations and of all North America to Saint
Kateri Tekakwitha, “Protectress of Canada”. In the words of the Holy Father, may
she, with all the saints, be a witness to us of lives “generously spent for love
of Christ,” strengthening and sustaining the whole Church and each of us in our
mission of proclaiming the Gospel. For as Jesus said when concluding his
teaching on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5.13,14), we are called to be the salt of
the earth and the light of the world.For further information and
reflectionThe following homilies and newspaper article from
earlier this year (listed in chronological order) offer further information and
reflection on Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. She was born in 1656 in what is now the
Diocese of Albany in New York State, and died on 17 April 1680 at the Jesuit mission
village of Kahnawake, south of Montreal in New
France, in what is now the Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil.

Agenzia Fides REPORT - "The political parties
have taken note of the appointment of the new Prime Minister and the resignation
of the previous. The political group that supports the military junta has
expressed its consent to the change of the Premier " says to Fides Agency Fr.
Edmond Dembele, Secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Mali where, after the
forced resignation of Premier Cheick Modibo Diarra (see Fides 11/12 / 2012), the
President ad interim Dioncounda Traoré yesterday appointed a new Prime Minister:
Diango Cissoko.Former Prime Minister Diarra was forced to resign after being
arrested by the military junta that had taken power in the aftermath of the coup
in March 2012 and that, despite the creation of new civil institutions,
continues to exert a considerable weight in the political life of Mali."Not
all parties have expressed themselves on the latest developments, but in general
one gets the impression that the entire political class has welcomed the
resignation of Diarra because there were several disputes with him, especially
on the conduct of national coordination and management of the conflict in the
north. The change of the Prime Minister has therefore been accepted by all the
political forces, even if not everyone appreciated the way Diarra was forced to
resign, " notes Fr. Dembele.The forced resignation of Diarra have been
criticized by the United Nations, European Union and other countries that were
committed to helping Mali to retrieve the north in the hands of fundamentalist
armed groups. "The negotiations that began in Burkina Faso to resolve the crisis
in northern Mali have been suspended. But with regard to the creation of a
military force of ECOWAS to send in Mali, the President ad interim has assured
that he intends to accelerate, and the same Amadou Haya Sanogo (the head of the
former military junta who played a key role in the resignation of Diarra, ed.)
assured he is not contrary to the presence of foreign troops in the Country and
indeed wants to facilitate their arrival," refers Fr. Dembele. "A new government
will be formed by the end of the week, we will see the developments," said the
priest. (L.M.)

Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher has been named as
the new Apostolic Nuncio to Australia by Pope Benedict XVI.The 58-year-old
prelate takes over from the former nuncio to Australia, Archbishop Guiseppe
Lazzarotto who took up his new Papal appointment as nuncio of Cyprus in August
this year.Archbishop Gallagher was born in Liverpool, UK, educated at St
Francis Xavier's College and was ordained on 31 July 1977 by Archbishop Derek
Worlock, the then Archbishop of Liverpool.With a doctorate in Canon Law from
the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, the English Archbishop became a
member of the Holy See's diplomatic service in May 1984.Fluent in French,
Italian and Spanish, Archbishop Gallagher held diplomatic posts in Tanzania,
Uruguay, the Philippines, Vatican Secretariat of State and at the Council of
Europe where he was based in Strasbourg.In 1997 he was appointed Counselor
First Class while working at the Nunciature in Burundi. This was followed in
January 2004 when he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Hodelm and named
Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi. His time in Burundi, the landlocked nation in
central Africa was tumultuous and in 2008 his residence was bombed as the
country underwent a further period of unrest.

Former nuncio to Australia Archbishop Guiseppe
Lazarrotto is now Apostolic Nuncio to Cyrprus

In February 2009,
Archbishop Gallagher left Africa to take over as Apostolic Nuncio to Guatemala
where he is currently serving.The Vatican made the announcement of the Holy
Father's appointment of Archbishop Gallagher to Australia last night.
Australia's new nuncio is expected to arrive here early in January.
Archbishop Gallagher will be the 15th Apostolic Nuncio of Australia and is
the first non-Italian nuncio to be named to the post.Since the first
appointment by the Holy See of Bishop Bonaventura Cerretti in (1914-17) as
nuncio to Australia, all the ensuing nuncios were Italian. But last night
Pope Benedict XVI broke with tradition and named Australia's first-ever
English-born prelate as the new nuncio to Australia.

The Sisters intend to follow the
Rule of St Benedict (Photo: Fr James Bradley)

Eleven Anglican Sisters will be received into the
Catholic Church via the ordinariate, it emerged this week.The Sisters, from
the Community of St Mary the Virgin in
Wantage, Oxfordshire, will be received into the Church by Mgr Keith Newton,
leader of the ordinariate in England and Wales, on New Year’s Day.The group,
which ranges in age from 45 to 83, includes the mother superior of the community
and a Sister who was once a minister in the Church of England. Three are in
their 80s.Next year they will stay for six weeks at a Benedictine convent.
After that, they do not know where they will live and they have no endowments to
keep them afloat financially.Mother Winsome said: “We’ve got an uncertain
future. But we are doing this because we truly believe this is God’s call. The
Bible is full of people called to step out in faith not knowing where they were
going or how they will be provided for and that truly is the situation we are
following.”The community, inspired by the Oxford
Movement and founded in 1848, streams its daily offices live on its website
and offers retreats and meditations online.Mother Winsome, in a letter to
friends and associates, said Sisters had been coming to speak to her privately
about joining the ordinariate since 2009. Once there was a “critical mass”, and
after gaining permission from each Sister, she raised the subject with the
community.The decision by 11 of the Sisters, she said, had been reached
“after constant prayer and in discussion with spiritual advisers”.They will
leave 30 or so members behind in Wantage. Mother Winsome said they had wanted to
stay at the convent, with Anglican and Catholic Sisters worshipping together,
though with “appropriate Eucharistic provision”. That way, she said, they could
carry on caring for Sisters who were elderly and frail.But she wrote: “After
considerable discussion with the authorities of the Church of England and the
ordinariate, it has become clear that this would not be possible.”The 11
Sisters, she wrote, “are in the main, but not exclusively, the able bodied
members who provide the work and management to keep the Community going, so,
since the ordinariate community do have to relocate, considerable time has been
spent and will continue to be devoted to ensure that the remaining members of
CSMV will be well cared for: spiritually, physically, emotionally as well as
financially.”Mother Winsome said the Sisters were likely to return to
Wantage as guests until they found a permanent home.The community, which
will be called the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, will be joined by one of
the three Walsingham Sisters received into the Church before the ordinariate was
first launched. They are intending to follow the Rule of St Benedict.Sister
Patricia Ann, who used to be a minister in the Church of England, said in a
statement that she was not the first Anglican woman priest to “lay down” her
ordination within the Anglican Church.Mgr Newton, the ordinary of the
Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, said the Community of St Mary
the Virgin had been “at the heart of the Church of England’s religious life”
since it was founded.He said: “The contribution of the community to the life
of the Anglican Communion has been significant, not least through the
community’s care for those marginalised by society in Britain, and also in India
and South Africa.“Those formed in the tradition of the Oxford Movement
cannot help but be moved to respond to Pope Benedict’s generous invitation to
Anglicans. The sisters have always prayed for the unity of Christians with the
See of Peter, now this is to become a reality for them by means of the
ordinariate. We are truly grateful for their faith, courage, and resolve.”In
a statement Mother Winsome said: “We believe that the Holy Father’s offer is a
prophetic gesture which brings to a happy conclusion the prayers of generations
of Anglicans and Catholics who have sought a way forward for Christian unity.
The future of our community is a fulfilment of its origins, and as part of the
Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham we will continue with many of our
customs and traditions, whilst also seeking to grow in Christ through our
relationship with the wider Church.”SHARED FROM CATHOLIC HERALD UK

ASIA NEWS REPORTby
Nirmala CarvalhoTitled Christaayan, it is the
first movie about Christ situated in India and shot in Hindi. Directed by a
Divine Verb priest, it involved more than 200 non-professional actors, 80 per
cent non Christian. The six-hour epic will be broadcast as series on
television.

Mumbai
(AsiaNews) - Christaayan, the first Hindi production about Jesus, has
been presented to the public. Situated in India, it is inspired by the country's
traditional culture.

The six-hour epic was produced by Satprakashan
Sanchar Kendra in Indore for the Divine Verb Society and will be broadcast
nation-wide as a TV series (for the trailer, click
here).

Directed by Fr Geo George, the movie was
shot over a seven-year period in several states, including Tamil Nadu, Goa and
Kerala, with the participation of more than 200 actors, almost all
amateurs.

The presentation was held at the Miriam School in Indore, a
school for the mentally disabled.

According to Mgr Leo Cornelio,
archbishop of Bhopal, movies like Christaayan "are a great inspiration"
because "they do not look only at the Christian community, but at each member of
society."

The movie presents actors dressed in saris of different colours
within a context representative of the Indian tradition. What is more, 80 per
cent of the actors are not Christian. For example, Ankit Sharma, who plays
Jesus, is a Hindu.

For most of the actors, this is their first experience
in front of the camera. They include Fr Jose Arayathel SVD, director of Mumbai's
Urban Community Development Centre (UCDC), who plays Saint Andrew.

"In
the movie, Jesus is concerned about the environment, defends the oppressed and
gives lessons in optimism," he said.

"Being a part of the movie has
renewed my commitment to mission," he explained, "because it focuses on the
social, political and economic aspects that characterise the lives of the most
marginalised groups of society, most notably women, youth and
children."

In
the sixteenth century, the Blessed Virgin, moved with pity for the Aztec people
who, living in the darkness of idolatry, offered to their idols multitudes of
human victims, deigned to take into her own hands the evangelization of these
Indians of Central America who were also her children. One of the Aztec gods,
originally considered the god of fertility, had transformed himself over time
into a ferocious god. A symbol of the sun, this god was in continuous battle
with the moon and the stars and was believed to need human blood to restore his
strength; if he died, life would be extinguished. Ever new victims, to be
offered to him in perpetual sacrifice, therefore seemed essential.

An
eagle on a cactus

Aztec
priests had prophesied that their nomadic people would settle in the place where
an eagle would be seen perched on a cactus, devouring a serpent. This eagle
appears on the Mexican flag today. Having arrived on a swampy island, in the
middle of Lake Texcoco, the Aztecs saw the foretold sign: an eagle, perched on a
cactus, was devouring a serpent. This was in 1369. There they founded their town
Tenochtitlan, which would become Mexico City. The town expanded to become a city
on pilings, with many gardens abounding in flowers, fruit, and vegetables. The
organization of the Aztec kingdom was very structured and hierarchical. The
knowledge of their mathematicians, astronomers, philosophers, architects,
doctors, artists, and artisans was excellent for that time. But the laws of the
physical world remained scarcely known. Tenochtitlan drew its power and wealth
primarily from war. The conquered cities had to pay a tribute of various
foodstuffs and men for war and sacrifices. The Aztecs' human sacrifices and
cannibalism are almost unequaled throughout the course of history.

In
1474, a child was born who was given the name Cuauhtlatoazin ("speaking eagle").
After his father's death, the child was taken in by his uncle. From the age of
three, he was taught, as were all young Aztecs, to join in domestic tasks and to
behave in a dignified manner. At school, he learned singing, dancing, and
especially the worship of many gods. The priests had a very strong influence
over the population, whom they kept in a submission bordering on terror.
Cuauhtlatoazin was thirteen years old when the great temple at Tenochtitlan was
consecrated. Over the course of four days, the priests sacrificed 80,000 human
victims to their god. After his military service, Cuauhtlatoazin married a young
woman of his social status. Together they led a modest life as farmers.

In
1519, the Spaniard Cortez disembarked in Mexico, leading 500 soldiers. He
conquered the country for Spain, yet was not lacking in zeal for the
evangelization of the Aztecs. In 1524 he obtained the arrival of twelve
Franciscans to Mexico. These missionaries quickly integrated into the
population. Their goodness contrasted with the harshness of the Aztec priests,
as well as that of some conquistadors. They began to build churches. However,
the Indians were reluctant to accept Baptism, primarily because it would require
them to abandon polygamy.

Cuauhtlatoazin
and his wife were among the first to receive Baptism, under the respective names
of Juan Diego and Maria
Lucia. After his wife's death in 1529, Juan Diego withdrew to Tolpetlac, 14 km
from Mexico City, to the home of his uncle, Juan Bernardino, who had become a
Christian as well. On December 9, 1531, as was his custom every Saturday, he
left very early in the morning to attend the Mass celebrated in honor of the
Blessed Virgin, at the Franciscan fathers' church, close to Mexico City. He
walked past Tepeyac Hill. Suddenly, he heard a gentle and resounding song that
seemed to come from a great multitude of birds. Raising his eyes to the top of
the hill, he saw a white and radiant cloud. He looked around him and wondered if
he was dreaming. All of a sudden, the song stopped and a woman's voice, gentle
and graceful, called him: "Juanito, Juan Dieguito!" He quickly climbed the hill
and found himself in the presence of a very beautiful young woman whose garments
shone like the sun.

"A
church where I will show my love"

Speaking
to him in Nahuatl, his native language, she said to him, "Juanito, my son, where
are you going?"—"Noble Lady, my Queen, I am going to the Mass in Mexico City to
hear the divine things that the priest teaches us there."—"I want you to know
for certain, my dear son, that I am the perfect and always Virgin MARY, Mother
of the True God from Whom all life comes, the Lord of all things, Creator of
Heaven and Earth. I greatly desire that a church be built in my honor, in which
I will show my love, compassion, and protection. I am your Mother full of mercy
and love for you and all those who love Me, trust in Me, and have recourse to
Me. I will hear their complaints and I will comfort their affliction and their
sufferings. So that I might show all My love, go now to the bishop in Mexico
City and tell him that I am sending you to make known to him the great desire I
have to see a church dedicated to me built here."

Juan
Diego went straight to the bishop. Bishop Zumárraga, a Franciscan, the first
bishop of Mexico, was a pious man and full of zeal, who had a heart overflowing
with kindness towards the Indians. He heard the poor man attentively, but
fearing an illusion, did not put much faith in his story. Towards evening, Juan
Diego started on his way home. At the top of Tepeyac Hill, he had the pleasant
surprise of meeting the Apparition again. He told her about his mission, then
added, "I beg you to entrust your message to someone more known and respected so
that he will believe it. I am only a simple Indian whom you have sent as a
messenger to an important person. Therefore, he didn't believe me, and I do not
want to greatly disappoint you."—"My dearest son, "replied the Lady, "you must
understand that there are many more noble men to whom I could have entrusted my
message and yet, it is because of you that my plan will succeed. Return to the
bishop tomorrow... Tell him that it is I myself, the Blessed Virgin MARY, Mother
of God, who am sending you."

On
Sunday morning after the Mass, Juan Diego went to the bishop's house. The
prelate asked him many questions, then asked for a tangible sign of the truth of
the apparition. When Juan Diego went home, the bishop had him discreetly
followed by two servants. At Tepeyac Bridge, Juan Diego disappeared from their
sight, and despite all their searches on the hill and in the surrounding area,
they could not find him again. Furious, they declared to the bishop that Juan
Diego was an impostor who must absolutely not be believed. During this time,
Juan Diego told the beautiful Lady, who was waiting for him on the hill, about
his most recent meeting with the bishop. "Come back tomorrow morning to seek the
sign he is asking for," replied the Apparition.

Roses,
in the middle of winter!

Returning
home, the Indian found his uncle ill, and the next day, he had to stay at his
bedside to take care of him. As the illness got worse, the uncle asked his
nephew to go look for a priest. At dawn on Tuesday, December 12, Juan Diego
started on the road to the city. Approaching Tepeyac Hill, he thought it best to
make a detour so as not to meet the Lady. But suddenly, he perceived her coming
to meet him. Embarrassed, he explained his situation and promised to come back
when he had found a priest to administer last rites to his uncle. "My dear
little one," replied the Apparition, "do not be distressed about your uncle's
illness, because he will not die from it. I assure you that he will get well...
Go to the top of the hill, pick the flowers that you will see there, and bring
them to me." When he had arrived at the top of the hill, the Indian was stunned
to find a great number of flowers in bloom, Castillian roses that gave off a
very sweet fragrance. Indeed, in the winter, the cold allows nothing to survive,
and besides, the place was too dry for flowers to grow there. Juan Diego
gathered the roses, enfolded them in his cloak, or tilma, then went back down
the hill. "My dear son," said the Lady, "these flowers are the sign that you are
to give the bishop... This will get him to build the church that I have asked of
him."

Juan
Diego ran to the bishop. When he arrived, the servants made him wait for hours.
Amazed at his patience, and intrigued by what he was carrying in his tilma, they
finally informed the bishop, who, although with several people, had him shown in
immediately. The Indian related his adventure, unfolded his tilma, and let the
flowers, which were still shining with dew, scatter to the floor. With tears in
his eyes, Bishop Zumárraga fell to his knees, admiring the roses from his
country. All of a sudden, he perceived, on the tilma, the portrait of Our Lady.
MARY's image was there, as though printed on the cloak, very beautiful and full
of gentleness. The bishop's doubts gave way to a sure faith and a hope filled
with wonder. He took the tilma and the roses, and placed them respectfully in
his private oratory. The next day he went with Juan Diego to the hill where the
apparitions had taken place. After having examined the sites, he let the seer
return to his uncle's house. Juan Bernardino had been completely cured. His cure
had taken place at the very hour when Our Lady appeared to his nephew. He told
him, "I have also seen her. She even came here and talked to me. She wants a
church to be built on Tepeyac Hill and wants her portrait to be called 'Saint
MARY of Guadalupe.' But she didn't explain to me why." The name "Guadalupe" is
well known by the Spanish, because in their country there is a very old
sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The
news of the miracle spread quickly. In a short time, Juan Diego became
well-known. "I will spread your fame," MARY had told him, but the Indian
remained as humble as ever. To make it easier to meditate on the Image, Bishop
Zumárraga had the tilma transported to his cathedral. Then work was begun on the
construction of a small church and a hermitage for Juan Diego on the hill of
apparitions. The next December 25, the bishop consecrated his cathedral to the
Most Blessed Virgin, to thank her for the remarkable favors with which she had
blessed his diocese. Then, in a magnificent procession, the miraculous Image was
carried to the sanctuary that had just been completed on Tepeyac Hill. To
express their joy, the Indians shot arrows. One of them, shot carelessly, went
through the throat of a participant in the procession, who fell to the ground,
fatally wounded. A great silence fell and intense supplication rose to the
Mother of God. Suddenly the wounded man, who had been placed at the foot of the
miraculous Image, collected himself and got up, full of vigor. The crowd's
enthusiasm was at its peak.

Millions
of Indians become Christian

Juan
Diego moved into his little hermitage, seeing to the maintenance and cleaning of
the site. His life remained simple—he carefully farmed a field close to the
sanctuary that had been placed at his disposal. He received pilgrims in ever
larger numbers, and enjoyed talking about the Blessed Virgin and untiringly
relating the details of the apparitions. He was entrusted with all kinds of
prayer intentions. He listened, sympathized, and comforted. A good amount of his
free time was spent in contemplation before the image of his Lady. He made rapid
progress in the ways of holiness. Day after day, he fulfilled his duty as a
witness up until his death on December 9, 1548, seventeen years after the first
apparition.

When
the Indians had learned the news of Our Lady's apparitions, an enthusiasm and
joy such as had never been seen before spread among them. Renouncing their
idols, superstitions, human sacrifices, and polygamy, many asked to be baptized.
Nine years after the apparitions, nine million Indians had converted to the
Christian faith—nearly 3,000 a day! The details of the Image of MARY moved the
Indians deeply—this woman is greater than the sun-god since she appears standing
before the sun. She surpasses the moon god since she keeps the moon under her
feet. She is no longer of this world since she is surrounded by clouds and is
held above the world by an angel. Her folded hands show her in prayer, which
means that there is Someone greater than she...

Even
in our time, the mystery of this miraculous Image remains. The tilma, a large
apron woven by hand from cactus fibers, bears the holy Image, which is 1.43
meters tall. The Virgin's face is perfectly oval and is a gray color verging on
pink. Her eyes have a profound expression of purity and gentleness. The mouth
seems to smile. The very beautiful face, similar to that of a mestizo Indian, is
framed by a black head of hair that, up close, is comprised of silky locks. She
is clad in a full tunic, of a pinkish red hue that no one has ever been able to
reproduce, and that goes to her feet. Her bluish-green mantle is edged with gold
braid and studded with stars. A sun of various shades forms a magnificent
background, with golden rays shining out.

The
fact that the tilma has remained perfectly preserved from 1531 to this day is
inexplicable. After more than four centuries, this fabric of mediocre quality
retains the same freshness and the same lively color as when it was new. By
comparison, a copy of the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe painted in the 18th
century with great care, and preserved under the same climatic conditions as
Juan Diego's, had completely deteriorated in a few years.

At
the beginning of the 20th century, a painful period of revolutions in Mexico, a
load of dynamite was put by unbelievers at the foot of the Image, in a vase of
flowers. The explosion destroyed the marble steps on the main altar, the
candelabras, all the flower-holders. The marble altarpiece was broken into
pieces, the brass Christ on the tabernacle was split in two. The windows in most
of the houses near the basilica were broken, but the pane of glass that was
protecting the Image was not even cracked. The Image remained intact.

The
most moving experience of my life

In
1936, an examination conducted on two fibers from the tilma, one red and the
other yellow, led to an astounding finding—the fibers contained no known
coloring agent. Ophthalmology and optics confirm the inexplicable nature of the
Image—it seems to be a slide projected onto the fabric. Closer analysis shows
that there is no trace of drawing or sketching under the color, even though
perfectly recognizable retouches were done on the original, retouches which
moreover have deteriorated with time. In addition, the background never received
any primer, which seems inexplicable if it is truly a painting, for even on the
finest fabric, a coat is always applied, if only to prevent the fabric from
absorbing the painting and the threads from breaking the surface. No brush
strokes can be detected. After an infrared analysis conducted on May 7, 1979, a
professor from NASA wrote, "There is no way to explain the quality of the
pigments used for the pink dress, the blue veil, the face and the hands, or the
permanence of the colors, or the vividness of the colors after several
centuries, during which they ordinarily should have deteriorated... Studying
this Image has been the most moving experience of my life."

Astronomers
have observed that all the constellations present in the heavens at the moment
Juan Diego opened his tilma before Bishop Zumárraga on December 12, 1531, are in
their proper place on MARY's mantle. It has also been found that by imposing a
topographical map of central Mexico on the Virgin's dress, the mountains, rivers
and principal lakes coincide with the decoration on this dress.

Ophthalmological
tests have found that MARY's eye is a human eye that appears to be living, and
includes the retina, in which is reflected the image of a man with outstretched
hands—Juan Diego. The image in the eye conforms to the known laws of optics,
particularly to that which states that a well-lighted object can be reflected
three times in an eye (Purkinje-Samson's law). A later study allowed researchers
to discover in the eye, in addition to the seer, Bishop Zumárraga and several
other people present when the image of Our Lady appeared on the tilma. And the
normal microscopic network of veins in the eyelids and the cornea of the
Virgin's eyes is completely recognizable. No human painter would have been able
to reproduce such details.

Three
months pregnant

Gynecological
measurements have determined that the Virgin in the Image has the physical
dimensions of a woman who is three months pregnant. Under the belt that holds
the dress in place, at the very location of the embryo, a flower with four
petals stands out—the Solar Flower, the most familiar of Aztec hieroglyphs, and
which symbolized for them divinity, the center of the earth, heaven, time, and
space. On the Virgin's neck hangs a brooch, the center of which is decorated
with a little cross, recalling the death of Christ on the Cross for the
salvation of all mankind. Many other details of the Image of MARY form an
extraordinary document for our age, which is able to observe them thanks to
modern technology. Thus science, which has often been a pretext for unbelief,
helps us today to give prominence to signs that had remained unknown for
centuries and that science is unable to explain.

The
Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe bears a message of evangelization: the Basilica
of Mexico is a center "from which flows a river of the light of the Gospel of
Christ, spreading throughout the earth through the merciful Image of MARY" (John
Paul II, December 12, 1981 ). In addition, through her intervention on behalf of
the Aztec people, the Virgin played a role in saving innumerable human lives,
and her pregnancy can be interpreted as a special appeal on behalf of unborn
children and the defense of human life. This appeal has a burning relevance in
our time, when threats against the lives of individuals and peoples, especially
lives that are weak and defenseless, are widespread and becoming more serious.
The Second Vatican Council forcefully deplored crimes against human life: "All
offenses against life itself, such as murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia...
all these and the like are criminal: they poison civilization ; and they debase
the perpetrators more than the victims and militate against the honor of the
Creator" ( Gaudium et Spes, 27). Faced with these plagues, which are expanding
as a result of scientific progress and technology, and which benefit from wide
social consensus as well as legal recognition, let us call upon MARY with
confidence. She is an "incomparable model of how life should be welcomed and
cared for... Showing us her Son, she assures us that in Him the forces of death
have already been defeated" (John Paul II, Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995,
nos. 102, 105). "Death and life are locked in an incredible battle; the Author
of life, having died, lives and reigns" (Easter Sequence).